In the Beginning... (49 page)

“We always have choices. Sometimes it is
just hard to see them. On that note…” Rathan turned toward the rest
of the group who’d paused to watch their quiet conversation. “Where
does Kindara sleep?”

“I doubt that she would want
me sharing that information with you.
She’s
extremely private, and I’ve made it one of my jobs to preserve that
privacy,” Aureliana told him. Mal just stared at him. Had he truly
asked what she thought he had?

“I will find her myself, then. Thank you for
your time.” He smiled at Mallory and then blinked.

Then he was gone.

Mallory shared a look with Mickey. “I don’t
understand it, either. Apparently, Rand’s best friend is a demon.
How about that?”

Mickey looked at Rand, who was still
stalking Jierra. “I have so many questions.”

Mallory grabbed her brother and jerked his
attention away from Jierra. “So do I. And I know one man who can
answer them. Come on. We’re so going to have a talk.”

Aodhan finished with Jambu then went in
search of his female. She was not in his suite, but he hadn’t
expected her to be. It took him but moments to find her.

The shouting drew him to the sitting room
she’d shared with her cousins since the day after he’d brought her
home. Her voice and a male’s. Aodhan cursed, then increased his
pace.

It was as he suspected; she and her brother
stood on opposite sides of the coffee table, yelling at one
another. Jierra sat in the corner, her eyes wide and frightened.
And trained on the Lupoiux wolf.

“You had no right!” Mallory was yelling at
her brother. “She deserved a choice! I never thought you would do
this!”

“Don’t meddle in things you don’t
understand, Mallory! This is the way of my people!”

“Your people? Your people?
Are you kidding me? How can anyone on this planet be any
more
your
people
than your twin?” Mallory’s confusion was clear, as was her anger.
And the protective way she stood between her brother and

Jierra.

Why was she so protective of Jierra? And why
was the brother so focused on the younger woman?

“She’s mine, Mal! You both need to get used
to it!”

“You are no better than them!” Mal threw her
arm out and pointed toward Aodhan. He hadn’t known she’d realized
he was there. “I know, why don’t we just get Jierra’s uncle in here
and you can make an even trade! Josey for Jierra! That’s sick,
Randall! Sick!”

Aodhan shook his head as it started to
become clear to him. The wolf wanted Jierra. The wolf wanted
Jierra, and was fighting his own family to get to her. Was growling
at his beloved twin for interfering.

“Mallory.” Aodhan’s voice was sharp, firm.
More so than he’d ever used with her. “Stop. Now.”

“No! He, he…he…he’s not doing this to
Jierra!” Mallory’s confusion was clear for everyone in the room to
hear. But it didn’t matter. Her brother still growled, and his fury
was focused on his sister.

Aodhan grabbed Mallory and jerked her behind
him. “Jierra! Out of here. Go to your uncle and stay there! Go,
now!”

Jierra understood he meant it, and she
obeyed immediately. Mallory continued to yell at her brother, her
fury increasing with each hiss she issued in the brother’s
direction. Aodhan ensured his body was between his female’s and the
threat of the wolf. “Mallory; stop now! Do as I say!”

She struggled to get around him, to go back
at her brother. Aodhan held her tight and jerked her around. “I
said stop! It’s too dangerous!”

“Why? It’s my damned brother! The idiot!”
She pushed at Aodhan’s hands, but he held firm. He didn’t care if
he bruised her. He could not allow his female to challenge an alpha
Lupoiux. Even if it was her brother.

“Mallory, look at me.” He turned her head to
him, then met her eyes before returning his gaze to the wolf. “Your
brother is not human. Do you understand me? He’s a Lupoiux. I don’t
know how, or why, but I know this is true. And Jierra is his mate.
You never get between a Lupoiux male and his mate. He will kill you
sooner than blinking. Even if he’s your brother.”

“No. That’s crazy. Rand is not a werewolf; I
would have known…” She stared at her brother, who was glaring at
her with the worst look of hatred in his eyes. Aodhan watched her
puzzlement turn to horror. She tried to step toward her brother,
this time her movement one of love and comfort. “Rand? No…”

The wolf was too far gone. Aodhan could see
the fur of a red wolf starting to cover the brother’s limbs. His
attention was still directed at his twin. The brother flashed into
wolf form. Threatening. Aodhan knew what had to be done. “Mallory,
I need you to listen to me. I want you to go out of this room
quietly and calmly. Do not draw his attention.”

“But…no…”

“Do as you’re told. If you don’t, someone
may mistake him for a Lupoiux enemy and could kill him. I’m going
to keep him distracted while you get out of here. Understand?”

“Don’t hurt him.” Her tears were choking
her, he could hear it in her voice. “Please?”

“I won’t. Just go, kitten. Carefully.”

She slipped from the room, and the wolf
growled. Beast more in control than man. Aodhan could have
understood it, but the wolf’s threatening Mallory would never be
tolerated. Despite the family connection. He stared at the red
beast. “Come on, then. If a fight is what you want, I will give it
to you. But listen to me closely, dog. You will never threaten my
female again. Dogs much stronger and older than you have died for
far lesser offences. Come on, then. Take your best shot.”

The wolf leapt. Aodhan caught the beast when
it was within three inches of his throat. He would subdue first,
and do his damnedest not to kill his brother-in-law in the
process.

Mallory didn’t know where to go or what to
do when Aodhan ordered her from the sitting room. She didn’t have
to make a decision; strong male hands grabbed her as she ran from
the room and she was shoved into Theo’s chest. Thank God, Theo. He
would help Aodhan and would not let Aodhan harm Rand.

Theo wrapped strong arms around her when she
would have turned back and entered the room. The horrific sounds of
an animal fighting for its life echoed through the hallway. “Stop
him! He’s killing my brother!”

“No, my fiery little sister, he is not.”
Theo’s tone soothed. Mallory ignored it. Cormac was there, Jierra
steps behind him. Thank God. Mallory’s eyes closed in relief when
she saw the man beside Cormac.

“Uncle Jason! Stop them! Please!”

Aodhan was hampered, not by
the wolf’s strength, but by the fact that he had to subdue the
beast rather than simply kill it. Had it not meant so much to
his
Rajni
, the red
pelt would have adorned his floor by morning. Still, while he
fought only to contain, the wolf fought to kill. The man was too
far gone to be in control.

This wolf was more animalistic than nearly
all of the Lupoiux Aodhan had ever encountered, and he wondered at
it. He was also pretty damned strong to be a Lupoiux alpha of less
than thirty years. Most didn’t strengthen like this until the age
of sixty or so. It warranted more questions, but Aodhan kept his
focus on preventing the beast from ripping out his throat.

He grabbed the animal and flung it, sending
it flying through the glass window into the gardens below. He
followed, leaping the two stories to the ground. He would not want
the wolf to happen onto an unsuspecting Dardaptoan. There were
children that lived in this resort, after all.

He and the wolf continued
their battle until hands pulled them apart. Cormac. Mallory’s
uncle. Barlaam and Rydere. Others. Aodhan relaxed. His job was
done. He regained his breath and pushed Cormac’s hands aside. “I am
fine. I sought merely to subdue. My
Rajni
?”

“She is with Theo.” Cormac pointed to the
broken door two stories above them. Aodhan could see his woman and
his friend. “What in the nine hells happened?”

“Jierra is his mate. Mallory
did not know not to interfere. Apparently the wolf is a strong one
in her twin, and rose to the surface when my
Rajni
stepped between them. I will
have words with her about it shortly.”

“I see.” Cormac’s own ire was clear in his
voice. “Kindara did not tell me that. It matters not. Jierra will
do only what she wishes where the wolf is concerned.”

“Thank you for your
assistance. I suppose we should ensure the wolf is contained until
he can prove his ability to control himself? Take him to the
basement. My
Rajni
will not be happy, but it cannot be helped. He will never
threaten her again. Not while I live.”

“Will do.” Cormac looked unbelievably
pleased at the assignment. Aodhan knew the other male was highly
protective of his sister’s only child.

“Do not harm him further. I
don’t think any of our
Rajnis
would appreciate it.”

Mallory watched the battle between the
animal she knew to be her brother and Aodhan with utter horror. She
could not look away, and even Theo’s restraining hands couldn’t
keep her from running to the balcony railing and looking down on
the men in the garden.

Aodhan stood, but he looked horrible. Blood
coated his arms, his chest. His? Or her brother’s?

Rand was still a wolf, and
while that shocked her more than she could ever imagine, she knew
in her heart the animal biting and clawing at the hands that held
him
Cormac and Barlaam…and Uncle
Jason.

It took her seconds to descend the metal
steps, barely aware that Theo and Jierra followed at a much more
cautious pace. She stopped less than a yard away from her brother.
“Uncle Jason! There’s blood on him! You have to help him!”

Josey’s father looked her
brother over. “It isn’t his, kiddo. It isn’t his.”
She tried to step toward her brother, but strong
hands stopped her. Cormac. “No. Don’t touch him, yet. He’s too
animalistic right now. Let your uncle deal with him. He’s had
experience, I’m sure.”

“Why? Are you saying…Uncle Jason?” She
looked at the man she’d loved all her life.

He was a carbon copy of her father, except
for the black hair he’d inherited from his mother, Mallory’s
grandmother. “Are you…”

“Yes, kiddo. I am. We were bitten on your
eighth birthday.”

Mallory thought back to that night. She’d
had a slumber party…and Rand had wanted to go camping to get away
from all the girls in the house. He’d gone camping with Uncle
Jason, but had come home halfway through the trip ill. “I see. Why
didn’t you tell us?”

“We couldn’t. It wouldn’t have been safe for
you. But now…”

“Now that we are monsters, too, you mean?”
Mallory looked around at the men still surrounding her. And at
Jierra, watching Rand from behind the safety of Theo’s shoulders.
Aureliana, who stood sword-drawn at Rand’s back.

Mallory’s eyes met Auri’s, saw the
compassion there. Auri put the sword away. “Your brother is going
to be fine, Mal. I cannot say the same for mine.”

Mallory gasped and turned toward Aodhan. He
was pale, but on his feet. “You’re hurt.”

“A bit. I will survive, kitten.” He held out
a hand to her but wavered.

Mallory sucked in a breath.

“I’ll send for Kindara.” Auri motioned for a
wide-eyed servant boy, who came running immediately. “Briken, fetch
Lady Kindara to the Green Room, please.”

“Yes, ma’am. Did the werewolf bite
Aodhan?”

“We’re not sure. Keep this quiet, ok?”

“Ok.” The boy ran off.

Mallory stepped closer to Aodhan’s side. She
ran a hand lightly down his arm. “Are you hurt very badly?”

“Like I said, I will survive, kitten. You do
not need to be concerned.”

“Of course I’m concerned! But…”

He walked away from her. Theo and Auri
followed.

Mallory was left watching his back as he
walked away. She looked at her brother, still held tightly by
Cormac. “How long will he be like that?”

“Who knows? Hours, maybe.
Days, even. Damned beast is in control.” Cormac’s expression
darkened. “Damned animal could have killed Aodhan. All while Aodhan
refused to fight back, so as not to upset you! Your brother will be
under lock and key for a while, until he regains control of
himself. And he will not be allowed near you, your sister, or Josey
and
Dhan
Emily
until we can be assured of your safety again.”

“But…”

“Your
Rajni
was hurt because of your
stupidity. Don’t you care?” Cormac’s words were harsh and had
Mallory feeling even more ill than she already did.

“No, Uncle Cormac. He was hurt because she
was protecting me. Don’t be angry with her.” Jierra’s voice had
them all looking toward her. Everyone could easily see how
frightened she was. “I didn’t want to go with him, and she tried to
make him stop. I’m sorry.”

Cormac nodded, his expression tender when he
looked at his niece. “You should have told me, Jierra. I could have
helped you.”

“I…”

Mallory felt for the girl. Hadn’t she been
just as frightened by Aodhan just a few weeks ago? “Jierra, let’s
go inside. I need to see him. And your mother will be there.”

They walked into the hotel without looking
back.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Jierra
whispered the words as she and Mallory walked down the hall toward
the green room. “He is your brother. You didn’t have to make him
mad at you. Not for me.”